Karol the Brave
by Russa
Summary: Karol had always been the one to run and hide from monsters. They scared him. But when Brave Vesperia gets attacked, it's up to Karol to save the day. Just a drabble describing Karol's solo fight against Baitojoh. Tell me what you think.


Hi! This is just a little drabble depicting Karol's solo fight against Baitojoh and the after-effects (or trying to). We really do crazy things when we're bored. XD I haven't played the game (I don't have an XBox 360), so I don't really expect that I can describe it as well as someone who has. But I have watched someone's gameplay of the entire story on Youtube. From watching it, I have come to find that I absolutely adore Karol. He is just so cute! ^_^ I thought of writing something like this for a school assignment, but then decided against it. But being as I had already writen it, I didn't want to do nothing with it, so I thought I'd post it. Tell me what you think, but please don't flame. Thanks, and I hope you like it. ^_^

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**Karol the Brave**

The group had made their way across the ice flows without too much trouble. They had occassionally been taunted by a strange whale-type monster gliding around underneath the ice. When they reached a huge crystal, an aer krene, they stopped to examine it. But that was what the monster was hoping for. Repede and Judith could sense it coming, and warned everybody to be on their guard, as the shadow of the monster glided under them again. Raven, the carefree soldier of the group, insisted that nothing would happen. It would probably just pass by again.

But this time, it didn't just glide on by. With a loud shattering sound, it burst up through the ice catching the group by surprise. The aer krene activated, issueing a kind of energy that suddenly made them feel drained. Yuri grunted in pain as sank to his knees. Around him, the rest of the group did the same. It was like they were immobolized, and just trying to move would cause pain. The monstrous dragonic whale, known as Baitojoh, was hovering in front of them, getting ready to attack. With one swift, forceful push, Yuri knocked Karol away and he went skidding along the ice.

Karol, who was the youngest member, soon regained himself and looked over at where his friends were trapped next to the aer krene. Baitojoh was hovering in front of them, using it to absorb their energy. Shouts from his friends then reached Karol's ears, telling to run away while he could, as this wasn't a monster he could probably beat by himself.

His hands and knees started to tremble. His broken sword, that had always seemed much too big for him anyway, started to slip from his grip. Part of him said he should run away. That had been what he had always done in the past. With his former team, he bragged about how good he was at fighting monsters, but when it came time to actually battle them, he would run and hide. The thought of battling vicious monsters had once scared him senseless. He had become known as cowardly and unreliable. But the other half of him said that it was different now. Now he had friends who accepeted him for how he was, and helped him become much stronger. Together with Yuri, he had a formed his own team. His heart twisted uncomfortably at thought of abandoning them. He didn't want to have to do that. He didn't want to run away ever again when his friends were counting on him.

And so, gripping his weapon tightly in his hands, he charged at Baitojoh with a loud yell. He could feel his whole spirit burning with a fire as it never had before. Never again would people call him a coward who ran at the first sign of trouble. He would never run away and leave his friends to do the fighting ever again. The fires of newfound courage were burning strongly within him now as he fought desperately agianst the dragonic-whale. But he was only a young boy trying to battle a monster five times his size. A monster that could fly, and shoot ice crystals up from the ground. Not to mention that it could hide under the ice and then burst up again without warning.

But battle it, Karol did. He was knocked backwards several times by the ice crystals shooting up. But he would just get right back up and attack again. He dodged around it in a circle, trying to hit it from behind. But it went under the ice again and stuck its sharp dorsal fin up through the ice. The force of it hit Karol square in the chest and he went flying backwards yet again, skidding along the ice. But he didn't want to give up. The fire forbid it. It was telling him that he couldn't give up, not when he had at last decided to run no longer. Not when he could finally be brave and fight. He would save them.

He could hear his friends telling him to stop, to run now before he became seriously hurt. The dragonic-whale then attacked with a quick motion knocking his broken sword from his hands. He was now defenseless, but he didn't want to give up now. Yuri yelled again for him to get away. They were probably going to be doomed anyway, being trapped as they were by the aer krene. But Karol refused. He doubled over from his wounds, but still he refused to run. He now understood what the fire was that was burning within him now. It was the spirit from his friends. As long as they were there, he could ignore the pain and fight. He couldn't lose as long as he could feel their spirits backing him up.

A Battlier sword that was stuck in a block of ice then caught his attention. Karol dashed toward it. Baitojoh noticed it too and flew after him to try and prevent him from reaching it. The dragonic-whale gaining on him, Karol dived for the sword. The sword was huge and looked to be much too heavy for him. Then Baitojoh attacked. Karol went tumbling through the air, somehow the sword clutched tightly in his hands. His friends cried out his name, but to their surprise, there was no need for their concern. The fires of courage and the sword guided him and he jumped higher then the dragonic-whale could fly. Then he came down again, driving the sword into the monster's head as he shouted, "You're mine!"

Baitojoh hit the ground with a loud thud. The aer krene stopped working as soon as it hit the ice. Yuri, Judith, Raven and Rita could move again. They quickly ran to his side in concern. Karol looked weakly up at them as he leaned against the sword for support. He smiled up at them, trying to assure them that he was okay. Then the dragonic-whale seemed to get its second wind and came to attack them again. Yuri glared over at it and said that they would pay it back double for all the hits that Karol took while fighting it alone. And this time, they would battle Baitojoh together as Brave Vesperia. They could never lose as long as they stuck together and fought as a team.

Well, the strength of friendship and teamwork conquered all, and they beat Baitojoh in no time. (Not to mention, thanks to Rita's awesome overlimit attacks!) After the battle was over, Rita immediately scolded Karol as to do something so reckless as to fight something like that by himself. But he didn't answer. Yuri and Judith soon noticed that he had collapsed. After he had calmed down, he had promtly passed out. Rita grumbled something about what if he had died before they could rescue Estelle from Alexei. Raven gave an admiring smile down at Karol, and said they should cut him a break. He's just a kid and facing challenges like that is all part of growing up. Not to mention that he had also saved their butts! They owed him big time.

Although Karol couldn't hear what they were saying, he could still sense it in a way. He had finally shown bravery and had started to grow up. All around him was darknes now, and he could tell because of that, that he must have fainted. But even though there was darkness, he didn't see it like that at all. It was still bright with the fire that would now be forever in his heart. Even though, he couldn't hear the words, he knew that his friends were praising and thanking him in their own way. Karol smiled.

END

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And there you are. Poor Karol. I felt like crying out his name too, when he was taking all those knocks while fighting Baitojoh by himself. I think he is my first favourite character in this game (even if I haven't played it). Well, okay, besides Flynn and Yuri, because they're both awesome! But I could tell I liked Karol alot, even back when he was that strong and called a coward by some of the other guilds. I always thought that he deserved a chance to prove himself. Karol is just so cute and I love him so much! ^_^ Anyway, that's my take on things. Hope you enjoyed. Cya around then! ^_^


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